Improvement in reed-boards for organs



A. W. WILCUX.

Reed-Boards for Organs.

N0. 140,750. PatentedJuly8,1873.'

AM PHOT0-LI17IOGRAPHIC cm W (oseoms's macsss.)

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALFRED W. WILCOX, OF NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT.

IMPROVEMENT IN REED-BOARDS FOR ORGANS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 140,750, dated July 8, 1873 application filed J une 4, 1873.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALFRED W.W1LeoX, of New Haven, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented a new Improvement in Reed-Board for Organs; and I do hereby declare the following, when taken in connection with the accompanying draw in gs and the letters of reference marked thereon, to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, and which said drawings constitute part of this specification, and represent in- Figure 1, a transverse section through the board, cent-rally through one reed-chamber and valve; and in Fig. 2, a front view of the same.

This invention relates to an improvement in the reed-chambers of organs, melodeons, and similar reed instruments, the object being to perfect and equalize the tune; and the invention consists in combining with the reed-chamber an auxiliary air-chamber communicating with the chamber proper near its open end, and completely closed except at this opening.

A is the reed-board, beneath the slits in which the valve B is arranged to be operated in substantially the usual manner. 0 is the reed-chamber and D the reed. This construction and the relative position of the parts are substantially that in common use. Above the chamberC an auxiliary chamber, E, is formed, preferably of about the same capacity as the reed-chamber, with an opening, a, from the chamber E to the chamber C and near the open end of the chamber C, as seen in Fig. 1. This auxiliary chamber may be placed only over the lower reeds, but may be, with nearly equal advantage, over all.

When the valve is open air rushes into the chamber C, past the opening a, and through the reed. In passing the opening a the inflowing air draws from the chamber E, and will draw from that until the quantity of air therein is reduced equal to the draft therefrom from the inflowing air. The vibrations of the reed naturally cause a tremor or somewhat inter rupted flow to the air, and the air in this auxiliary chamber, which is, to a certain extent, a vacuumchamber, yields orvibrates according to the vibration of the reed, which gives to the tone of the reed a very much smoother, stronger, and better tone than in the usual construction.

I claim as my inventiom- In combination with the reed-chamberC and its reed, the auxiliary chamber E opening di rectlyinto the reed-chamber near its outer end, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

ALFRED W. ILCOX.

Witnesses A. J. TIBBITs, J. H. SHUMWAY. 

